FORT WORTH, Texas — The future looks extremely bright for DGR-Crosley Racing’s Driver Tyler Ankrum. The 18-year-old competed in his first ever race at a 1.5-mile speedway in Friday night’s Vankor 350 at Texas Motor Speedway and he did not disappoint in running near the front all race long and recording a sixth-place finish.
“I had a ton of fun though,” said Ankrum. “Man that was crazy restarting up front like that. Really that was my biggest weakness all night was my restarts. It’s so weird almost everywhere you go in the K&N car or late model or super you pretty much know based off gearing where you’re going to start.”
Ankrum, the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro East Series champion, was so proud of his team for the incredible equipment they put under him for this race.
“We had a really good car — or truck I should say — I can’t thank these guys enough for the truck they brought me,” an elated Ankrum stated. “I couldn’t believe that my first mile and a half we have this kind of a finish. This strong of a run. We actually raced. We were contenders.”
Ankrum — as any race car driver does — expected to run well, but in the closing laps while he was mixing it up with some of the biggest names in NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series history, the young driver had to pinch himself.
“It’s kind of surreal because I’m racing against Crafton, Kyle Busch and Sauter,” Ankrum said. “I even passed Sauter on the outside, I don’t think you realize how important that is for me. I had a ton of fun and I can’t wait to come back here.”
The sixth-place effort matches Ankrum’s career-best finish in Truck Series competition, which came at ISM Raceway in Phoenix last fall.
